


thirteen for the wayfarers

by librarby



Series: requests :^) [1]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Gen, Pirate Julian Devorak, Pre-Canon, Rated T for language, fyi the ship part is quite small, julian devorak centric, this is mainly julian getting into trouble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24497428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/librarby/pseuds/librarby
Summary: The last time Julian had been arrested in a port city was after a barroom brawl that turned a bit too violent and ended with him narrowly avoiding a murder charge. This time, though, he’d honestly done nothing wrong.[title from in taberna quando sumus by carl orff]
Relationships: Apprentice/Julian Devorak, Julian Devorak/Reader
Series: requests :^) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1769881
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	thirteen for the wayfarers

**Author's Note:**

> Anon asked: HEY if youre taking writing requests.. could you maybe do one with Julian in his early days as a pirate and travelling? if you wanna,, I just really like pre-game adventurous Julian. youre a really good writer and you seem like a cool person :^)

The last time Julian had been arrested in a port city was after a barroom brawl that turned a bit too violent and ended with him narrowly avoiding a murder charge. This time, though, he’d honestly done nothing wrong. And not even ‘nothing wrong’ in that way that he would claim to the captain of the Fortuna to convince him to bail Julian out of whatever trap he’d caught himself in this time, but honest-to-god nothing. 

Julian managed to duck into an alleyway just in time as the guards came rushing around the corner. He could hear them muttering amongst themselves, clearly confused about where he’d slipped off to. Holding his breath as they passed, he planned out his next move. 

He couldn’t make a break for the boat, not with all the guards crawling about. He had no way of disguising himself or any means to get ahold of his crewmates, many of which were likely either drinking or had found themselves a bed to warm. These guards clearly believed whatever the shitty shopkeep said about Julian allegedly stealing his wares (which was not what happened) and were out for their supposed justice. 

Julian huffed, taking a moment to push a mass of auburn curls out of his eyes. His hair was getting on the long side, he should probably cut it when he got back to the boat. 

If he got back to the boat. 

He had no doubts that the Fortuna would leave him behind if it had to. While the captain wasn’t a spiteful man by any means, he still had a schedule to keep. The ship was supposed to leave for a port out somewhere along the Golden Gulf by sundown. This stop had mostly been to refuel and give the crew some well-deserved time on land after their trip through the strait. 

Julian was, as usual, delighted to have some time off the boat. He liked his crewmates well enough, even tagging along to have some drinks with them at a seedy dive bar conveniently placed directly near the docks. Still, he was a little more curious than the rest of his companions and set off to see what the local life was like. 

Not a few minutes later, he’d found himself in the middle of a marketplace. It reminded him faintly of the one back in Nevivon. Rows of stalls offered everything from fresh fish and fruit to handmade jewelry and magic charms. Children ran around in the dirt street, tossing a ball between them. A tall woman yelled after them in a tone that was somehow both fond and annoyed. The smell of fresh baked bread and smoke seemed to follow at Julian’s heels as he walked. A royal guard nodded at him as he passed by. 

One of the merchants, he noticed, was selling what appeared to be medical tools. It was rare for Julian to be able to restock his supplies, and even rarer to find someone who didn’t try to sell him magic nonsense. He adjusted his collar as he strode up to them, flashing them a smile. 

“Afternoon, sir!” They returned his smile easily. It was a refreshing change from Fortuna’s previous stop in Hesperia, where everyone seemed to act as though you were wildly inconveniencing them by asking where the nearest bar was. 

Julian greeted them back then glanced over the table, his eyes falling on a small rack of vials. His crewmates had an exceptional talent for breaking glassware, no matter how out of reach he put them. As he picked it up to inspect it, something bumped against his foot.  
He looked down to see a small black ball, about the size of his palm. He bent down and picked it up with his free hand then looked to the side. 

One of the children from earlier was staring at him, head cocked slightly to the side. She was maybe ten, with wide brown eyes and tan skin dotted with freckles. Her clothes were covered in dirt from the ground. 

He made a little throwing motion, to which she grinned and put her hands up to prepare to catch. He did his best to toss it softly to her and she caught it with ease. She somehow smiled wider, then made a small motion with her other hand before sprinting off to join her friends. Julian blinked. 

“That was ‘thank you’.” The merchant said, jarring him from his thoughts. 

“What?” 

“Her sign.” The merchant repeated the small motion the girl had done. Julian nodded in understanding. A few of Nevivon’s residents were hard of hearing and he knew a few very basic signs. “It’s part of our local signing dialect. And, by the looks of you, you’re not from around here, are you?” 

Julian laughed. “Not exactly. My crew and I are in port for the day.” 

“Well, welcome. If you know what’s good for you, you won’t go to the Blue Sector.” The merchant waved vaguely somewhere to their left. “Not a lot of excellent characters over there.” 

Julian made a mental note to first, find out where the Blue Sector was and second, go there. “Thank you for the tip.” He stepped back and turned to continue further into the market. He got perhaps thirty feet, stopping to inspect some scarves, before he could hear a shout and commotion back from the way he came. He turned to see the merchant gesturing wildly towards him. 

And a group of guards headed his way. 

He tightened his fingers around what he had in his hands. Wait, what he had in his hands? He looked down. A sinking feeling settled in his gut as he realized he was still holding the little vial set from the stall. 

The guards shouted at him to freeze, so of course he took off running. That was where he found himself now, still clutching the vials and hiding in a dark alleyway between two brick buildings. 

“Truly outstanding work.” He chided himself under his breath, though the voice in his head sounded more like Mazelinka than himself. “Stealing something you were going to buy anyway!” 

Looking behind him into the alley, he saw it came to a walled dead end. The only other things in the alley were several large crates and a brown tabby that eyed him suspiciously before slinking away. Two crates were stacked up against the wall, near to the top of the building. If he could get up to the roof…

Shoving the vials into his coin bag to keep them safe, Julian pulled an empty barrel over to boost himself up. They were rickety at best, groaning a bit as he put his full weight on them. Before he could second guess himself, he reached up and grabbed the edge of the building. He praised whatever gods were out there for giving him long limbs as he pulled himself up and over. 

From the rooftop, he could see the rest of the city sprawled out before him. It was just as colorful and lively as the marketplace, with movement and music everywhere he looked. In the distance, a large castle-like structure loomed over everything. And, thankfully, the docks, where he breathed a sigh of relief to see that the Fortuna was still gently bobbing in the water. 

He had made his way across three rooftops when he realized he still wasn’t sure how he’d get to the docks. The rooftops let him get nearly there, but there was a stretch of open air and sand that he would have to cross. 

And there was the fact of the two royal guards standing watch at the end of the pier, looking particularly threatening and holding rather sharp looking blades. 

“Well, this is just excellent. Nothing quite like a swordfight when you don’t have a sword.” Julian muttered to himself, heading in the direction of the docks anyway. “Or any weapons, for that matter.”

He managed to stay as low as possible, keeping away from the edges of the rooftops as best he could so as not to alert his pursuers. Every so often he’d hear the telltale clanking of armor and freeze in place until it faded. Eventually, he had gone as far as he could and was forced to drop back down to street level. 

The docks were across the way, not a hundred paces from where he was. He just needed to get rid of the guards and he would be scot free. A distraction was all he needed. 

He glanced around himself, looking for a rock or anything he could throw. When his eyes landed on a child instead, he nearly jumped back in surprise. 

It was the same girl as earlier, eyes still wide and hands still clutching the ball. She stared up at him, eyes shining in a way that reminded him of Portia when she was young. 

“Ah, hello there.” He said, waving at the girl. 

She frowned at him. “You took something.” She said, her voice a little rough from disuse but firm nonetheless.

“No, that’s—that’s not quite what happened, I…” the girl gave him an unimpressed look and he sighed. “It was an accident, honest. I’m just trying to get back to my ship.” He gestured behind her to where the Fortuna was docked. 

She crossed her arms and blinked a few times before finally nodding. “Need help?” 

“Yes!” Julian said with a little too much enthusiasm. He pointed to the guards, careful not to turn his face away from the girl so she could continue to read his lips. “Can you distract them?” 

The girl’s face turned into a wide grin, one that also reminded Julian a bit too much of Portia. She nodded, then quirked an eyebrow and held out a hand. 

“Huh?” He stared at her outstretched hand. She pointed to his coin bag. Damn, the kid was good. He laughed, despite himself. “You don’t want those. They’re mostly fake anyway. But,” he reached into his pocket, “I think I can do you one better.” 

He pulled out a small metal bird. It was a raven (or maybe a crow, hell if he knew the difference). He’d bought it in the last port, meaning to take it to Mazelinka as a gift when he returned home. The girl’s eyes lit up when he held it out to her, and she snatched it before he could think twice. 

“Get ready to run, mister.” She told him in that low, mischievous voice, before turning and throwing her ball onto the roof. Before he could ask what on earth she was doing, she ran over to the guards, signing so fast that Julian wouldn’t have been able to make out what she was saying even if he did understand them. 

The guards seemed taken aback at her approach, but finally managed to get her to slow down and point to the roof where the ball was. She grabbed both of their wrists and started tugging. 

To Julian’s surprise, they both followed her over, giving him space to make a break for the dock. Before he could think twice, he sprinted down the sand and up the creaking wood of the pier. He stopped, just short of the Fortuna’s gangplank, and turned. 

The two guards were still occupied, one climbing some precarious looking barrels and the other with their hands stretched out in case the first fell. The girl was looking over her shoulder at him. Even from here, he could feel the intensity of her eyes. 

Julian, using as large a motion as possible, did a rather rough recreation of the “thank you” sign that the girl had given to him earlier in the marketplace. 

She smiled and returned the sign, before making a shooing motion and turning back to the guards. 

Julian slid up the gangplank and nearly collapsed onto the deck of the ship with relief. A few crewmates laughed at him. He opened his coin bag to find the vials still unharmed, despite the day’s events. 

“If any of you idiots break these,” He said, holding them up as they gleamed in the afternoon sunlight, “I’ll throw you overboard.” 

Julian grinned at the apprentice. “And that is how I got my vials!” He said proudly, gesturing to where his medical kit sat on the table. 

The apprentice quirked an eyebrow at him, the ghost of a smile on their lips. “That didn’t happen.” They said. 

“What? Yes it did!” Julian protested. “They’re _right there_.” He motioned harder this time; in case they had missed what he was referencing. 

“Your stories are never true.” The apprentice accused, reaching out and pushing his shoulder a little. He pretended like the press of their hand against him didn’t make his head spin. 

“I would never lie to you, darling.” He said, words meant to come across in a teasing tone but instead sounded soft in the quiet of the closed-up shop. 

“Of course you wouldn’t.” They rolled their eyes, a fond smile still on their face. He could see them opening their mouth to make another remark, likely about his past track record with dishonesty, and took them by the waist, pulling them in for a kiss. They laughed against his mouth and he could feel the vibrations through his body. 

That night, Julian stared down at the apprentice’s sleeping form, fingers practicing a movement he hadn’t done in years. 

_Thank you. Thank you. Thank you._

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked it anon!  
> kudos and comments help keep my soul alive. find me on tumblr (ravenships) or comment below for requests :-)


End file.
